About the Department of Neuroscience

Dr. Azevedo’s Laboratory seeks to understand how emotional experiences, such as trauma or reward, are processed and integrated in the brain. Our main goal is to determine the circuit, cellular and molecular mechanisms by which emotions control behavior and physiology. Ultimately, we aim to understand and define novel molecular targets involved in psychiatric diseases, such as Eating Disorders, PTSD, and Anxiety. Using the mouse limbic system as our primary model, our laboratory employs a combination of behavioral, molecular, anatomical, and imaging tools.

Dr. Becker's overall research focus is directed at elucidating neurobiological mechanisms and environmental factors underlying the addictive effects of alcohol, including adaptive changes resulting from chronic alcohol exposure that play a role in promoting excessive alcohol consumption and enhanced relapse vulnerability.

Dr. Berto aims to elucidate the molecular signaling pathways involved in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and brain evolution. His lab's research focuses on identifying novel genes and signaling pathways implicated in brain disorders, utilizing studies on transcription and splicing factors, as well as employing comparative genomics and other computational approaches. His primary cancer research interest is applying advanced genomic and computational approaches to uncover the molecular mechanisms that drive tumor development, progression, and therapeutic response.

Dr. Bharioke's lab focuses on looking at neuronal activity throughout the lifespan. They mostly use two-photon imaging to study cortical activity both in living embryos (during development) and in adult mice. Their goals are to understand:

(1) how neurons generate the cognitive functions that serve to define who we are, and

(2) how to manipulate that activity in order to correct defects associated with neurological disorders. His background is in both computational and experimental neuroscience, and the lab uses methods from both those angles, building models of neuronal circuits based on experimental data.

Professor
Director, COM Senior Mentor Program
boger@musc.edu
Boger Laboratory

Professor
Chandj@musc.edu
Chandler Laboratory

Assistant Professor
flanigme@musc.edu
Flanigan Laboratory

Professor
Director, Center for Biomedical Imaging
jense@musc.edu
Jensen Laboratory

Professor
josep@musc.edu
Joseph Laboratory

Associate Professor
lavina@musc.edu
Lavin Laboratory

Professor
mulholl@musc.edu
Mulholland Laboratory

Assistant Professor
otis@musc.edu
Otis Laboratory

The Rinker Lab is a preclinical, basic science lab that explores the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie alcohol dependence and stress-related disorders using a murine model of excessive alcohol consumption that emulates aspects of this human medical condition of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). The lab has several main projects that focus on stress system dysregulation in alcohol dependence, cortical mechanisms of excessive alcohol drinking, and thalamic regulation of reward seeking. We utilize in vivo calcium imaging to track neural activity during alcohol drinking and behavioral tasks, as well as chemo- and optogenetic approaches to manipulate neural activity, and basic wet lab techniques, like immunohistochemistry, western immunoblotting, and slice electrophysiology. The overall goal of the lab is to help understand the etiology of AUD and identify new pharmacotherapeutics targets for drug development.

Professor
sambak@musc.edu
Sambamurti Laboratory

Assistant Professor
satot@musc.edu
Sato Laboratory

Assistant Professor
schmidew@musc.edu
Schmidt Laboratory

Assistant Professor
smitaw@musc.edu
Smith Laboratory

Assistant Professor
taniguch@musc.edu
Taniguchi Laboratory

Professor
woodward@musc.edu
Woodward Laboratory